Kinglets!!!

Well.....not exactly. Goldcrests to be more precise, but this mornings haul saw me and Moxey reminiscing of the mornings spent on the Riverside Trail at, the now defunct, Ausable Bird Observatory on the banks of Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada during which we could catch thirty or forty Ruby-crowned or Golden-crowned Kinglets, the North American members of the Regulus family. This morning we were targetting the 'crests specifically, with a two-pronged approach. John Dempsey reported earlier in the week that large numbers of Goldcrests were moving through the dunes to the north of us and Hilbre Bird Observatory, in the mouth of the River Dee, ringed a staggering number over the last couple of days. With this passage continuing, we chose the two sites we had our best chances at, Crosby Hall and the Woodhams.

I headed off for an early start at Crosby Hall, with more nets to deal with than Moxey would have I also had the feeding station in operation. By the time Moxey called in to pick up the nets and mp3 players, I had already caught and ringed five Goldcrest under the dull, overcast sky that all morning held the threat of rain.

 Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)

Moxey headed off to the Woodhams, less than a mile away, with a couple of nets and two mp3 players and it wasn't long before he was texting (yes, Moxey can text!) to say he had six Kinglets in one 9m net - awesome! I stuck at operations at Crosby Hall, moving a couple of nets around based on where I was observing the activity and the feeding station kept things ticking over nicely. By 11am, Moxey returned having ringed 8 Goldcrest.

 Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)

 Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)

A brief shower decended about midday, but quickly cleared and somehow, that was the only rain we would endure through the morning as there was dark grey cloud all around us. Chaffinches featured prominently this week at the feeding station, quite a contrast to the Goldfinch numbers with only two caught - a complete reverse of the previous week. A retrap Treecreeper and a new Nuthatch were moments of quality, but the day really belonged to the 'crests.

 Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)

The Goldcrest were all in excellent condition, the lightest bird was 5.1g, but the majority were at least 6g and the heaviest came in at 6.5g with a fat score of 4 and a muscle score of 3. Impressive, a clear indication of birds on migration.

We wrapped the session up by half past one and I headed to Brook Vale to check the feeding station there. The majority of the Siskin flock has now moved on, but there was significant Greenfinch activity at the feeding station and a couple of Goldcrest were also heard. It wont be long before we will be starting to hear the warblers in song as they arrive back for the summer...

Crosby Hall

Goldcrest -   10   (1)
Wren -   1
Treecreeper -   (1)
L.T.Tit -   (1)
Chaffinch -  14   (3)
Blue Tit -   9   (7)
Great Tit -   2   (7)
Coal Tit -   1   (2)
Robin -    2
Goldfinch -   1   (1)
Dunnock -   (1)
Nuthatch -   1   (1)
Greenfinch -   7
Blackbird -   1

TOTAL:    49   (25)

Woodhams

Goldcrest -   8
Great Tit -   (1)

TOTAL:   8   (1)